Rusting metal, broken window glass, used paper plates, and other debris anchor the corner of a backyard in southwest Detroit.

A few feet away, Lesa Whitley and Wendy Leach are busy creating shade. The women are members of C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., an organization that helps outdoor, tethered dogs and their owners with free pet food, straw, doghouses, spay and neuter costs, vaccinations, and fencing, with an ultimate goal of freeing dogs from their chains. On this sweltering Friday afternoon, the mission is seemingly simple, stretching a tarp from fence to fence over a doghouse.

The women improvise the structure, working quickly in the relentless sun, while their team leader, Dawn Lamsa, picks up a rake and begins to corral the surrounding garbage into a heap.

“This will make it a little cleaner for him,” Lamsa tells the dog’s owner. He holds the white and tan, blind pit bull by a chain at the side of the yard, allowing the women to work unhampered.

“You leave lots of water for him because it’s super hot out,” Lamsa advises. “Do you bring him inside? Do you need a crate or anything for him, to bring him inside the house?”

“Oh yeah. We do it in the winter when it’s real cold,” the man replies, adding that his dog — which knows only life outside on a chain — has on occasion “messed up” the basement when brought indoors.

“When we get one in we’ll give you a nice, big crate,” Lamsa promises. “Then he can go in that inside.”

The volunteers heap straw in and around the doghouse, then fetch treats and a bowl of food, while the owner refreshes his dog’s water. They snap a few photos and take notes to inform other C.H.A.I.N.E.D Inc., teams that return regularly to check on the animal’s welfare.

Before they leave, Whitley squats and stretches her arm in a friendly gesture. “I don’t think he’s aggressive, but he is blind and he gets scared,” she says, petting him as he gnaws playfully on her hand, soaking up her attention. “Good boy. Such a good boy. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

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Dawn Lamsa spends a little time with Goldie before heading to the next stop.(Photo: Bill Bresler | staff photographer)

Living blind, on a chain 24/7, outdoors, sheltered only by a tarp and a doghouse, with straw for comfort, is not ideal. But C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., volunteers keep in mind the mantra “Don’t let perfect get in the way of better.”

Red to green

The half-hour stop is one of several listed on the team’s itinerary that includes a few first-time assessments and welfare re-checks. Initial visits are based on owner requests or calls from neighbors. Volunteers also notice needy dogs in backyards and residents sometimes approach C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc.’s truck. It’s easy to spot and piled high with supplies.

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The first stop is to see how a pair of dogs are doing. C.H.A.I.N.E.D. built the chain link run, provided a shelter and straw.(Photo: Bill Bresler | staff photographer)

Convincing owners to bring their dogs indoors can take months of education and trust-building. Dog owners who are eager to keep water bowls full, their dogs well-fed, inoculated, and who permit their pets to be spayed or neutered, earn a “green” or “good” rating and are more likely to receive help with backyard fencing or kennels. A “red” rating may indicate abuse or neglect and sometimes merits a call to cruelty investigators or a request to surrender the dog. Volunteers work with owners on their dog care skills and look for improvement in the pet’s health and environment. A “yellow” rating is average.

“It’s sad, but while you are there you are doing a good thing for these dogs,” says Leach, a Wyandotte resident who works for a manufacturing company in Detroit. “There are owners you can really talk to and they seem to get it. They’ll get the dog off the chain and into the house.

A blind dog catches his leg on his chain as he walks through his owners backyard in southwest Detroit. Volunteers from C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., set up the tarp and placed straw around and inside his house.(Photo: Sharon Dargay)

“If they just don’t get it, they get very regular visits to see what has changed and what we can do to help. A lot is they don’t care. These dogs are a security system, not a pet they care about, and that is frustrating to those of us who love dogs.”

Whitley, a Trenton resident who works for a financial services firm in Canton, became a C.H.A.I.N.E.D Inc., volunteer two years ago. Her most rewarding experience is taking a dog and owner from a red rating to green.

“That is what makes your heart melt,” Whitley says. “They take the dog in at night. I don’t know if it’s because they are being held accountable or if their attitude changes...their dog becomes a part of their family.”

Lamsa says family and cultural attitudes, an inability to pay for fencing, apathy about dog training and the desire for protection compel owners to keep dogs chained in their backyards.

The Sterling Heights woman calls herself a “crazy cat lady,” who initially was “petrified” of dogs before joining C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc.

“When I see them chained I can’t sit here. I have to do something,” she says.

Annual fundraiser

In addition to volunteering, Lamsa is coordinating a third annual barbecue fundraiser for C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., and two other animal welfare groups, from 1-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at Paint Creek Cider Mill, 4480 Orion Road, in Oakland Township.

Proceeds will help C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., pay for supplies and vetting. Gina Freemon, founder and president, figures her organization spends approximately $250 per dog at each initial assessment. The cost includes a doghouse, straw, flea and tick preventative, food, and treats. The nonprofit organization also assists with spay and neuter, vaccinations, deworming and heartworm preventative.

C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., targets southwest Detroit neighborhoods, one neighborhood on the city’s east side, and downriver communities. Freemon says her group has helped more than 1,600 outdoor dogs over the past five years, working with owners in baby steps.

“We try to take the homes we currently have and make them better,” she says, adding that at least half of them improve significantly.

“The chained dog is the most miserable dog of all in existence. It’s horrendous. They live in horrible conditions in dilapidated houses with no interaction. They are more likely to bite because they are not socialized. It’s just the worst form of animal abuse...the worst form of neglect.”

Freemon, a registered nurse from Brownstown Township, saw her first chained dog five years ago while coming home from work on a snowy January evening.

There was no answer when she knocked on the homeowner’s door, intending to offer her help. Freemon returned with straw, food and help from the dog owner’s neighbors. The dog remains involved with C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., but has been freed from the chain.

Goldie and Duke were tethered outdoors in their southwest Detroit neighborhood until volunteers built a kennel for them a few months ago. They are the highlight of Lamsa’s route. She tells green-rated owner Gloria Correa she’ll look into getting a play pool and indoor crates.

“I had them inside yesterday. It was so hot,” Correa explains. They stay indoors in cold weather, too.

Correa is grateful for the help, especially the kennels.

“I like to see them run around,” she says. “It’s a lot easier for me and a lot safer for them.”

For more about C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., visit chained2011.org.

sdargay@hometownlife.com

BBQ Fundraiser

What: Raises funds for C.H.A.I.N.E.D. Inc., Good Juju Rescue in Plymouth, and Dog Aide, based in Fenton

When: 1-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27

Where: Paint Creek Cider Mill, 4480 Orion Road, in Oakland Township

Details: Choice of pulled pork, smoked chicken or veggie wraps, along with baked beans, coleslaw or doughnut. Music by Jilian Linklater and Just Lookin’ for Places to Play. Includes kids’ activities, bounce house, raffles, silent auction. Dogs welcome